I'm pumped, I just came back from lunch, with one of my buds, who builds ( & rebuilds ) guns... we are putting together a new one for me ( Merry Christmas Mike )... it is going to be an old British Martini long lever action single shot, with a light weight 458 Hex barrel chambered in my favorite cartridge, the 45-70, & fitted with express safari sights... this guy does awesome work, & did my last one of a kind custom rifle... a new Marlin 44 mag lever action carbine, fitted with a 50 A.E. barrel, with the feed ramp modded, & a custom 10 round tube magazine, & the front stock glass bedded, it wears a zero power Alaskan guide series scope, This rifle has had all the new components blued to match the new Marlin, & looks just like a brand new little 44 Mag carbine, untill you look down the barrel, & realize you could drop a whole 44 mag cartridge ( rimmed brass & all ), down the barrel ...

sorry, I don't like to talk too much publicly about firearms, but I'm really pumped about this new / old rifle, & can't wait for it to be finished, & take it out to my rifle range & put it through it's paces... what are your favorites ???

 

I love my Marlin 1895G. Its small, accurate and has some awesome horsepower!

 

I like the 45-70 cartridge, I also have a Marlin carbine in that cartridge, & regularly hunt deer with a 45-70 hunter barrel on a TC Contender...

 

45-70 is a great old cartridge, I also use a TC but with the 16" bbl. Lots of jump and recoil but so lite and handy to carry. I also enjoy the Trap Door Springfield, an original, that I came into years ago. This rifle was traded to me by an Indian friend that had inherited it from a family member. Stock has been hand carved with oak leaves, acorns, deer and elk. Lots of brass tacks and a beaded buckskin carry case. Really a neat old gun.

The 45-70 is making quite a come back and there is a lot of ammunition around that should not be used in many of the old original firearms. In a modern rifle that is built to handle the pressure the high velocity ammo is fine but be carful what you put in the old guns.

My favorite load in the old 45-70s continues to be a 500 grain hard cast bullet at around 1100 FPS. Never found a rifle that did not shoot this big long bullet well.

Enjoy your new/old rifle, it will knock down anything that walks the face of the earth.

 

Right now, my Savage .17HMR bull barrel is my fav.

 

sound like a lot of fun, show us a before and after picture. i love all of the old levers .

 

I also have a Marlin model 1895 in .45-70, got one shortly after they 1st came out. Right now my novelty rifle has to be my AR-50 (.50 BMG). I find it amazing that one can comfortably fire such a large cartridge from a shouldered weapon (well you actually fire it from a bench but you put your shoulder up to the stock). The destructive power of that round is amazing. So far my all time favorite is my M1 carbine, so light and comfortable to shoot...

 

Anyone know a good cheap place/site to buy 45-70 bullets? The 45-70 can be a costly gun to shoot.

 

My favorite gun is an old 12 gauge side by side with double hammers. It isn't worth much in dollars but everything in sentimental value.

 

One time I went to Galyans and asked the guy at the gun counter for some Federal .45-70, 300gr hollowpoints. The box said $9.99. I asked the guy if he was sure the price on the box was correct, he said "yep". Told him Ill take all of them! Walked out with 10 boxes of ammo for $100.

Cheaperthandirt.com is a good place to find ammo at reasonable prices.